With the acquisition, Gilead will get access to MYR’s advanced chronic Hepatitis Delta Virus (HDV) treatment Hepcludex
Gilead Sciences agrees to acquire MYR. (Ceedit: www_slon_pics from Pixabay.)
Gilead Sciences has agreed to acquire MYR, a German biotechnology company, for approximately €1.15bn in cash.
Under the terms of the transaction, Gilead is also expected to make a potential future milestone payment of up to €300m, subject to customary adjustments.
Established in 2011, MYR is engaged in the development and commercialisation of therapeutics for the treatment of chronic hepatitis delta virus (HDV).
With the acquisition of MYR, Gilead obtains access to Hepcludex (bulevirtide), an inhibitor that binds to NTCP, an essential HBV and HDV receptor found on hepatocytes. Hepcludex works by blocking HDV from entering into hepatocytes.
Gilead Sciences chairman and chief executive officer Daniel O’Day said: “HDV is a devastating disease with high unmet medical need. With Hepcludex we have the opportunity to address that need with a first-in-class therapy.
“We look forward to working with the team at MYR to realise the full potential of Hepcludex for patients with HDV worldwide. This will build on the work that Gilead has been doing for almost two decades to innovate and improve therapies for viral hepatitis.”
Hepcludex has been conditionally approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the treatment of chronic HDV infection in adults with compensated liver disease.
HDV is the most severe form of viral hepatitis, associated with mortality rates as high as 50% within five years in cirrhotic patients. The disease occurs only as a co-infection in individuals who have hepatitis B virus (HBV).
MYR has launched the drug in France, Germany and Austria, with plans to launch in certain other markets throughout 2021. The transaction is expected to support the global launch of Hepcludex.
Treatment using Hepcludex demonstrated similar safety and efficacy profiles to patients treated for 24 weeks in combination with TDF, in the Phase 2 MYR202 study.
The interim data from the ongoing Phase 3 MYR301 study is anticipated in the first half of 2021, and is expected to support the regulatory filing in the US.
Goldman Sachs served as a financial advisor, and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Mayer Brown, and Flick Gocke Schaumburg serving as legal counsel to Gilead for the transaction,.
UBS Europe served as financial advisor, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater PartG mbB as legal counsel to MYR.
MYR chief executive officer Dmitry Popov said: “We are proud of our achievement in bringing Hepcludex from preclinical stage to patients in need within such a short timeframe.
“We are excited to join Gilead, whose experience in the hepatitis field and global infrastructure will realise the full potential of Hepcludex and provide access to as many patients as possible around the world with this debilitating disease.”